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PARKS & RECREATION BOARD 2020/08/18 MinutesThe City of Lake Forest Parks and Recreation Board Meeting Minutes August 18, 2020 REMOTE ACCESS MEETING I. Call to Order The Parks and Recreation Board Meeting was called to order by Chairman Paul Best at 6:30p.m. The following were present via Zoom meeting: Board Members: Mr. Paul Best Ms. Nancy Duffy Ms. Shannon Maguire Mr. Jared Rhoads Mr. Marc Silver Ms. Melanie Walsh Staff: Ms. Sally Swarthout, Director of Parks and Recreation Mr. Joe Mobile, Superintendent of Recreation Mr. Chuck Myers, Superintendent of Parks, Forestry & Special Facilities Mr. Vince Juarez, Vice President of Operations, Kemper Sports Management Mr. Anthony Anaszewicz, Program Manager Ms. Dani Spann, Administrative Assistant II. Approval of Minutes Meeting minutes of the June 16, 2020 Park & Recreation Board Meeting were presented and approved. Board member Duffy motioned for approval of the minutes and Board member Silver seconded. The minutes were then unanimously approved by roll call with 6 ayes and 0 nays. III. Opportunities for the Public to Address the Board on Items not listed on the Agenda No comments IV. Deerpath Golf Course Update Vince Juarez, Vice President of Operations, Kemper Sports Management gave an update on Deerpath Golf Course and the estimates through July. Fall clinics are skyrocketing with EBIDA up by 37%. Some key items driving revenue are the dynamic pricing, permanent tee times and patio use. Annual passes have doubled. Mr. Juarez talked about some of the ways they have been able to control costs by having flexible payroll, monitoring inventory, cross utilizing staff and keeping maintenance in- house. Mr. Juarez mentioned the TrueReview Summary that they have every year. The goal was for Deerpath Golf Course to have a score of 70.0 and they met and exceeded that with a score of 78.8. Mr. Juarez mentioned a lot of the 2020 events have rebooked for 2021. Board member Maguire asked about staffing for the increased number of Jr. Golfers registered. Mr. Juarez answered Richard Franklin has a team of instructors including college students that allows a 4:1 ratio and the program will cap at 20 students per morning and afternoon class. Board member Walsh commented the Staff are phenomenal and enjoys playing. Chairman Best thanked Vince Juarez for his service as General Manager at Deerpath Golf Course. V. Recreation Programs Update Joe Mobile, Superintendent, talked about the Recreation programs offered over the summer and upcoming fall. The online brochure is updated weekly for registrations and program offerings. He touched on the Fitness Center being able to maintain social distancing by offering classes at Forest Park Beach and Deerpath Park. Summer camps were still offered with 9 pods of camps and a total of 164 kids. Overall the numbers were a success while ensuring safety precautions and social distancing. Fall of 2020 there will be a variety of programs offered including a full dance academy with lessened class time and mandatory face masks. The fall and spring registration has some changes. Mr. Mobile touched on fall dance offerings. Mr. Mobile mentioned KInderhaven preschool will have in person education with smaller pods of classes to ensure safety precautions are being met. Anthony Anaszewicz, Program Manager, talked about some of the football program changes. 7 on 7 leagues are now being offered, which is a modified version of flag football. There are currently 101 kids registered. There are 8 teams with 13 participants and 2 coaches per team. Mr. Anaszewicz went over the practice days and games. Clinics are being held and there is more involvement from the High School this year. Staff are very excited about this new program. VI. Lakefront Update Joe Mobile, Superintendent, gave an update on the Lakefront. With the help of Parks and Public Works staff the beach was opened on Memorial Day weekend. It has been greatly utilized. Signage is posted to ensure health safety and precautions. Residents are encouraged to wear masks and continue social distancing. Field trips to the beach are limited to in house programs only with additional staff hired. Mr. Mobile went over the non-resident fees and hours. To this date there has been a total of 3292 non-resident guests at the beach. The north end has had a total of 113,088 guests thus far. The beach will be staffed until Labor Day and then weekends only in September. Non-residents will be charged through September. There has been an increase in non-resident visitors this season. 2019 City stickers will be good through September. VII. Parks Update Chuck Myers, Superintendent, updated the Board on the parks projects. Since back from COVID restrictions, Parks staff have been working hard on improving field drainage at the athletic fields using the Redexim SandMaster. Townline Park has used 35 semis of sand and Northcroft Park has used 5 semis of sand. South Park improvement projects include basketball and bocce courts, fitness stations and a new walking path. The walking path is complete, and the tennis court is being resurfaced. They are anticipating a completion date for the end of September. The West Park sidewalk extension project was finished last week and is now ADA accessible. VIII. Veterans Park Update Joe Mobile, Superintendent, updated the Board on the Veteran’s Park improvements and overview of the plan. Approvals are done for the proposed park entrance with the flag pole and flowers, and the military memorial plaques. Parks and Forestry staff has been working on clearing the path. Staff would like to use existing brick to match Market Square to keep consistency and tie them together. The opening bid was completed on July 22, 2020 and six bids were received. Staff decided to reject all bids as they were all overpriced. It was decided to reschedule with a projected bid date in January of 2021. Staff are anticipating the park to be open on Memorial Day of 2021. IX. Director Comments Director Swarthout informed the Board of events coming up. Due to COVID, the Fred Jackson Golf Classic was rescheduled for September 11th. This event is put on by the Lake Forest Park and Recreation Foundation. Registration is available online. Ms. Swarthout talked about some programming highlights: • After School Athletic Club is Monday – Friday, August 26th - October 30th for grades 1-4 from 3:30pm – 5:00pm • Teen Bike Club- Saturdays from August 29 - October 10 from 9:00am – 12:00pm • Atlantis Treasure Hunt- September 5th- A key is hidden somewhere in Lake Forest and teams are given six clues to decode. If found, the team can unlock the treasure and receive a nice prize. X. Board Member Comments Chairman Best thanked Staff for a great job and for everything they did this summer. XI. Adjournment Board member Silver motioned for adjournment and Board member Walsh seconded. There was a roll call of 6 ayes and 0 nays. The meeting was adjourned at 8:50 p.m. Respectfully Submitted Dani Spann Administrative Assistant